Kalk Bay Caving

Last month we were...Caving in Kalk Bay

, 1 September 2006

by Rochelle van der Merwe

It was all Luke's idea. We were going to climb up the mountains behind Kalk Bay and explore the famous caves. We were all going to meet at 10am sharp, at his place, which is in the charming little harbour town of Kalk Bay just outside Cape Town.

Waiting for our walk

Ten o' clock came and so did eleven. Everyone was there except for Anthea. While we were waiting, we decided to stock up on some food for the long walk.

Luckily, just down Luke's street, the Olympia Café was waiting too. This is a restaurant everyone who passes through Kalk Bay should visit. Situated on the main road, its quaint white and blue features are reminiscent of Greece. Heavenly food that feels like sin makes this place a dieter's hell and a Mecca for food lovers.

12:15. Finally, Go2Africa's very own G.I. Jane arrived in full attire, fashionable glam-meets-bush combat gear, along with her loyal troupe, Steph and Ashley.

"A girl cannot only look the part, but also has to become the part - which, erm - took a bit of time," she said shyly, just the way a lady should if she'd like to soften five impatient attitudes.

Ready to Go

With our bags filled with leftovers from our Olympian feast, we were ready to face the mountain. Like a happy bunch of troopers, we filed up the grassy green path. All we needed was a joyful marching band to follow us with drums, tubas and cymbals, and maybe a few drum majorettes for good measure.

Facing a Mountain

Our cheerfulness didn't last forever. Short of breath, courage and stamina, our bunch of happy troopers started to disintegrate. Captain Fitness, alias Luke, was hopping up the mountain from stone to stone like an agile mountain goat, while the rest of us scrambled over the rocks and mountain flora, grabbing hold of what we could, how we could.

Despite all our suffering, our hearts were smiling. Whenever a bout of discouragement and the â€œwhy, why, why did I do this to myself?" wail threatened to wallop us over the head, we'd just look behind us and gaze at an absolutely breathtaking view of False Bay - a living postcard of blue sky and blue sea.

Encouraged by the idea of what it would look like from the very top of the mountain if it already looked so incredibly grand, we followed Luke's disappearing figure with renewed enthusiasm and vigour.

The view was not our only motivation. The mountains of the Cape have a particular scent from the fynbos, which is music to the nose and infiltrates your mind like a giant room spray of bliss. You feel alive out there, and free. You want to get to the top of that mountain so that you can shout it to the world.

Cape Town Hiking Views

An hour after the start of our climb, which was interrupted by about a million photo sessions, mini water breaks, shoelace adjustments and view admiration checks, we finally got to our lunch break stop - a rocky cliff on the mountainside. It seemed to showcase the entire world.

We had False Bay on our left, the open ocean, Fish Hoek, Kalk Bay and Simons Town in front and Cape Point and everything next to it on our right. No photo could capture the magnitude of this view.

This is what draws me to mountains. You feel as if you've got the world at your feet. As if you can drink it all in with your eyes, ears, nose, body and get a new taste for life. The flavour is freedom.

After everyone got superbly emotional at this spectacular lunch spot (we even got Luke to strike an endearing pose with his wife), we set off for Part II, the Caving Expedition. This was the part I secretly looked forward to most. I fantasized how I was going to explore the belly of the mountain with my fancy new headlight contraption.

The Kalk Bay Caves

After doing what baboons do best and climbing up a steep and rocky crag, we reached the cave's entrance. We felt like the A-Team getting ready for a mission. We got into our jackets and hats to avoid the chill and bat droppings, and got out our torches and tested them. We were okay to go.

Inside the cave we became excited little kids in the dark. We made all kinds of silly noises with our voices and ran around looking for something that could be a possible undiscovered artefact. Indiana Jones might have been disappointed by the lack of historical surprise, but to us it was absolutely fantastic. We were caving and loving it.

That is, until one of the bats left a personal present on one of our jackets. We sped up and let the mountain swallow us. Just as we thought we couldn't go any deeper, the tunnel started getting lower and narrower. This part of the expedition is only recommended for the adventurous and those who like to get their hands and knees dirty.

The Boomslang

This cave is called Boomslang (a kind of snake), maybe because you have to crawl like a snake to get out of it. The best part of crawling through the tunnel was not the ice-cold dirt underneath me, nor the feet that kicked my face from time to time, nor the pretzel-like positions I had to contort myself into, but the unstoppable laughter and pleasure we got from doing this.

Finally, we slithered inelegantly out of the end of the tunnel. Even though the cave isn't that frightening (except if you suffer from intense claustrophobia) it's still a relief when you make it out into the friendly sunlight.

Cocktails in Kalk Bay

As we descended, the excitement of the climb and the caving started to settle down, and we knew what we needed when we got back to Kalk Bay: cocktails at the Polana. The Polana Restaurant is right on the rocks and waves crashed dramatically in front us while we rested our weary legs, lounging on large leather couches.

As each crash splashed theatrically over the rocks, our minds slowed down and brought a perfect closure to what could only have been described as a day where we were on top of our troubles and a little bit closer to that pie in the sky. Cheers to that!

Print this page | Send to a friend